As of May 21, over 100 educators have RSVPd for this year's National Board Reception at the National University headquarters in San Diego. This is a great way to to get connected and get energized! Invite your principal to this event--it's a great opportunity to help him or her understand the value of the National Board tools and processes and encourage more support for NBCTs and NBCT candidates at your school!

To all Team Members who are participating in the NBCT Assessment Center Exercises, 2010-11; Congratulations Candidates! We are proud of you as you should be of yourselves in your ability to demonstrate your accomplished teaching performances, via your portfolio evidence. Now, it’s time to demonstrate your content knowledge. You have submitted your portfolio and you are ready to prepare for the Assessment Center portion of your National Board journey. To best prepare, we strongly encourage candidates to take time to do some deep work with key documents. Visit the Backpack section resource list for a variety of important tools and information that can help with your assessment center preparation. Make every effort to download these resources (posted in coach under AC prep) and bring them with you to the workshop: Here is a “quick” version to navigate and get what you need to study and download for your AC Prep:

At the workshops, our team will share strategies, tools and tutorials that may be useful to you as you determine your areas of strengths and weaknesses for the AC experience. Candidates who recently achieved NBCT will share their AC experience and suggest “tips” for demonstrating your best performance at the Center.

We look forward to seeing you and delving deeply into your content areas in collaboration with colleagues!

As a supporter of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and its candidates, please be advised that the standards for the following certificate areas have been revised:

English as a New Language

Early and Middle Childhood

Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood

Exceptional Needs Specialist

Early Childhood through Young Adulthood

Mathematics

Early Adolescence

Adolescence through Young Adulthood

Social Studies-History

Early Adolescence

Adolescence through Young Adulthood

World Languages

Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood

Additionally, please take note that NBPTS has updated the Assessment at a Glance, Portfolio Instructions, and Scoring Guide documents for the certificate areas listed above as a result of revisions to the standards. With the exception of retake candidates, these revised materials are to be used for all submissions to be scored in 2012 and beyond. Retake candidates will continue their certification journey using the standards provided during their initial candidacy. 2010 Take One! participants who deferred their entry must now use the updated, 2011 materials.

The revised Standards are currently available on the NBPTS Web site. All other revised materials are expected to be available online no later than May 2011. If you have any questions, please call 1-800-22TEACH for assistance. Information that compares the old/new standards in the above areas is posted in the document library for the California NBCTs group on NBCTLink.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has released a guide for measuring teacher effectiveness based on student learning. The report suggests that assessments should be aligned with the curriculum and student goals; should evaluate student learning; take student diversity into consideration; and evaluate a range of knowledge and skills. In this blog post, National Board Certified Teacher Patrick Ledesma writes that "teachers now have a report that articulates our concerns and hopes for a better evaluation system." Read the full article about this release in Education Week.

National University just received a full 10 year accreditation term from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). This is the longest accreditation term that an institution can receive and affirms the university's commitment to what “best contributes to [student] learning outcomes in different instructional settings and delivery modes.” The WASC Visiting Team noted that National had “moved beyond accreditation compliance and well into a culture that is committed to assessment-driven improvement for the benefit of their learners.” For more information, read the official Announcement from President Potter.

NUPTDC Director Rae Adams and Program Ambassador Sean McCarthy attended this 22nd annual Future Educators Association International Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, from Feb. 18-20, to provide a presentation on how the National Board processes and tools could help future educators and their advisors. The presentation included an overview of the NB process, tools and resources that NUPTDC could make available to FEA members, and a pathway for teacher preparation designed to get future teachers started on the road toward accomplished teaching. Included in the presentation was NUPTDC's plan to help connect future educators to NBCT members and give them access to the online community NUPTDC has developed through eCoach. Check out the slideshow to the right for pictures from this even.

NUPTDC Director Rae Adams and a team of NBCTs met with Congresswoman Susan Davis to discuss the proposed Elementary and Secondary Education Act and advocate for a greater role for National Board Certification in this legislation. The Congresswoman, who also spoke at this year’s NBCT reception, listened as Adams and the other NBCTs spoke of the benefits of certification and its impact on student achievement. They called for stronger language in the legislation that would recognize and incorporate National Board Certification into the proposed measures identifying teachers as “highly effective.”

The team from NUPTDC also presented Davis with a certificate in recognition of her support of National Board Certification and her efforts on the House Education Committee.

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